ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Conference play gets underway this weekend for the Eckerd Baseball squad as the Tritons travel to face Barry University for a three-game series.
GAMES 6-8: Eckerd (3-2, 0-0 SSC) at Barry (6-2, 0-0 SSC) | Friday - 6:00 PM | Saturday - 1:00 PM (DH)
COVERAGE: Live Stats |
Live VideoPROBABLE STARTERS: Jack Silberman (0-1, 7.20 ERA) |
Alex Moore (1-0, 3.60 ERA) |
Dillon McCollough (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
LAST TIME OUT: The Tritons fell victim to a bit of bad luck in a 6-3 loss on Wednesday to Ave Maria (Fla.) at home as several hard-hit balls went right to Gyrene defenders. Eckerd tied the game in the seventh inning on a two-run double by
Nick Hill, but AVU scored twice in the eighth and ninth innings to secure the win. Eckerd used 11 different pitchers in the game.
RETURN TO MIAMI: Second-year Eckerd head coach
Juan Ranero makes a homecoming of sorts this weekend as he returns to one of his previous stops at Barry. Ranero led the Buccaneers from 2002-2005 that included back-to-back 34-win seasons in his last two years. This will be his first time coaching in Miami Shores since his return to Florida as Barry visited St. Petersburg last year.
JUMP RIGHT IN: On Saturday, Ranero is likely to send out a pair of freshmen pitchers to start both ends of the double-header in
Alex Moore and
Dillon McCollough. Both looked solid in their first career starts last weekend against Colorado Christian in helping the Tritons to a pair of wins.
HOT STICKS: Several Tritons come into the weekend swinging hot bats with four players hitting .500 or better in the early season.Â
Tom Buonopane is 5-for-8 at the plate with three walks for a team-best .750 on-base percentage.Â
Nick Hill is 6-for-10 and leads EC with seven RBIs.Â
Lucas Luopa (8-for-15) and
Matt MacMahon (7-for-14) have also been difficult outs so far.
EARLY EXPERIENCE: The Eckerd pitching staff has been busy in the early season with 17 pitchers having made at least one appearance. Nine of them have yet to allow an earned run.
